5 Eco-Friendly Chocolate Brands

Celebrate Valentine's Day with organic and fair trade treats

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If you find yourself at the last minute without the requisite chocolate for your sweetheart this Valentine's Day, don't panic. You can hit the grocery store (or the drugstore) on your way home from work on Feb. 14 and still come home with some sustainable chocolate. Here are five chocolates frequently found in the candy aisle that are sustainably a cut above the average heart box of chocolates.

1. Dove Chocolates I recently found out that Mars, the parent company of Dove chocolate, takes sustainable cocoa agriculture seriously. They held the first International Workshop on Sustainable Cocoa Farming, and they work with their cocoa farmers to help them have sustainable lives and livelihoods. You're sure to find Dove on the shelves at the grocery or drugstore.

2. Green & Black's Green & Black's chocolate bars are organic and fair trade. I frequently see them on the shelves at the grocery store, drugstore and Target. While they may not make their chocolate in heart-shaped wrapped in red foil, I don't know anyone who would turn away one of these delicious bars on Valentine's Day.fair trade

3. DivineNot as easy to find as the first two choices, but stores with a good organic or natural section should have these tasty chocolates. Divine is a fair trade company. Forty-five percent of the company is owned by the farmers who grow the cocoa. My boys love Divine's milk chocolate bars. They say they're the best "plain" chocolate bars they've ever had, and for Valentine's Day you can find their milk chocolate wrapped in foil hearts. You can use the store finder on Divine's website to find a store that sells their products near you.

4. Theo I'm seeing Theo chocolates more frequently on store shelves, and I absolutely love the salty, nutty goodness of the fair trade, organic Hazelnut Crunch bar. My local Wegman's carries Theo. The store locator on their website will help you find a grocery store near you that carries it.

5.Newman's Own Organic and Rain Forest Alliance certified, Newman's Own makes chocolate bars and chocolate cups (filled with yumminess like peanut butter and caramel). Newman's Own can be found in many grocery stores, but you can use their store locator on their website to be sure you're going to a store that carries it.

You are bound to find one, if not several, of these chocolate brands on the shelves this Valentine's Day. If you neglected to plan ahead, you can still be confident that you're making a sustainable chocolate choice by choosing one of these sustainable Valentine's Day chocolates.